Not sure where to post (Morris Oxford help)

[Pesimax]

Hello everyone, My names George and I'm very new to the forum. I've been stalking here for a couple of months as I've been looking to buy a moggie. I've been to the minor centre in manchester and drove a few and looked at various car auctions (last one had two beautifull ones in buxton) however I've now found an MOT'd Morris Oxford (series two) It's like a big Minor, it's had new seats (no seatbelts or wingmirrors) and while the outside looks fine (bits of crome needs re-croming) the inside needs abit of touching up no roof fabric...someones just painted it white and dasboard plastic cracked.

As i'm a new driver (got my test on monday) and 24 is their any point in buying this 57 year old car? Or should I find a nice moggy? They have held it back two days for me? I really don't know what to do. It's got a column gear shift, but i doubt that would be a problem with practice.

all the best

George

p.s I've also noticed that there isn't any kind of Morris Oxford owners club or generic Morris car owners club...I might feel abit on my own. :/

[chickenjohn]

try this site:- http://www.co-oc.org/

if they do not include your car they may know of the club that does.

such as :- http://www.motorbase.com/contact/by-id/884/

[mike.perry]

If I could think of a good excuse for owning one I would like a Series MO Oxford. The only problem is that most body panels are unobtainable. Owning a Morris Minor with its next day delivery of most parts you tend to forget how difficult and expensive it is to maintain many other classics.

[bmcecosse]

I advise against - spares problems/poor performance/very poor fuel consumption. I suspect it will be a millstone round your neck.....

[Budgie]

i,d concur with mike perry and bmc,i,ve alwavs fancied one and very nearly bought one about two years ago until i did some research on parts which soon put me right off,don,t get me wrong i,d still love one but the sensible side of me kicks in when i think of locating parts.I,m on my third minor,first was a two door saloon second was a four door saloon and now i own a tourer and parts have always been easily available and cheap

[IaininTenbury]

I used to have a Series 2 Oxford. Really enjoyed it, a nice car to drive. Yes its not really fast, though being B series powered there's loads you could do if that was a problem. (It'd keep up with traffic and cruise at 60-65 though).
I really enjoyed the bench seat and the column change - the controls were sort of angle towards the side of the car a bit for fitting two more passengers in the front so you could slouch in the corner of the seat/door, arm casually on the opened window ledge and cruise along at its own pace.

Downsides, are as have been mentioned, fuel economy is not stunning. Think mine was normally in the twenties - its a heavy car. No seat belts - same as any other car of the period which can be sorted. Not a lot in the way of body panels or trim available - best to contact the club as suggested and see what the current situation is. Mine was a low mileage one that needed no welding -ever, so I was lucky in that respect. not much problem with mechanical spares, but the Minor is in a league of its own re parts availability. Oxfords more like any other old car - theres specialists and Clubs out there and you'll need them. (I had new brake rubbers on mine and there was no problem sourcing those.)

Personally, I'd have one again tomorrow if the right car turned up, as a first car you'd find a Minor a to easier to live with but if it really floats your boat why not...

[davidpidge]

Erm. Buy it. No question. I've seen a couple of those big oxfords going for sale and they're glorious.

[chickenjohn]

I advise against - spares problems/poor performance/very poor fuel consumption. I suspect it will be a millstone round your neck.....

Whereas you could use a Minor as an everyday car, I think the Oxford would have to be a car kept to enjoy on nice days and classic car shows only for the above reasons of parts availability and fuel consumption.

[Kevin]

You should be able to get some help/advice from here
http://mo680.themoggysite.nl/index.html ... anner=Home

[Pesimax]

Yeah I decided against the Oxford....I did find a Ford Zephyr though. However if anyone ownes a Oxford and need the chrome 'oxford' badges. I've just got two that i don't need.

Cheers for all the info
G

[Ondergard]

There' a guy in our village with two of the Oxford MO's. I won brownie points with him when I moved into the village for correctly identifying them first time, never having seen one in the flesh before, from a side-on view - front on, and the heavy old grille means you could never mistake it for a Minor, side on at a quick glance and you might be forgiven if you haven't got a Minor alongside to compare it.

They're beautiful, and I want one. I think of them as "Morris Majors", and I'd love to have one alongside Betsy Blue on my drive. After I've totally put Betsy Blue to rights, I would start on the Oxford. I'd keep the column change and leather bench seats, but I'd respray it Trafalgar Blue to match Betsy, and I'd try and source a more powerful engine... Marina B Series 1.8, or something like it?

Mind you, I'd have to inherit one, or a substantial amount of money to get one.

Peter, the guy in my village, also has two other Minors, I think. He keeps them in a lockup in a neighbouring hamlet. His black Minor was actually purchased by Lord Nuffield, personally, and driven down to Cardiff to present to a long-standing employee on his retirement by Nuffield himself, so his name appears first on the logbooks. That's the story, anyway, and I don't even care if it's a tall story! It's certainly an immaculate Minor.

[IaininTenbury]

To be honest they're not really any more money than a Minor, in some ways they are cheaper due to not having the popular following. I ran my Series 2 as an everyday car for around 18months during the mid 90s and other than some new brake rubbers and restitching the seams in the bench front seat it cost nothing...
Memorable trips include filling the boot with files from the office at work to give more traction when it snowed all day to get home.
When I saw it advertised I thought it was an MO Oxford (Minor shaped) which appealed, as I didn't know when Series 2s started but it was probably a better car for daily use than an MO being B series powered, and at least no one mistook it for a Minor!
I understand that popping a B series in an MO is quite a popular conversion to make them a bit more practical.